Istanbul: Turkey carried out airstrikes on several cities in northern Syria on Saturday, according to a report by the US-backed Kurdish-led military.

A week has passed since a bomb blast on a busy street in the center of Istanbul killed six people and injured more than 80. The outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, and affiliated Syrian Kurdish groups were blamed for the attack by Turkish authorities. However, Kurdish militant organizations have denied involvement.

The PKK is considered a terrorist organization by both Ankara and Washington, but there is disagreement over the status of Syrian Kurdish groups that have partnered with the US in the fight against the Daesh organization in Syria.

Also Read: 'Main threat' to World Heritage sites is climate change

Turkey's Defense Ministry posted a picture of a fighter plane after the attacks with the caption, "The rogues' treacherous attacks are being taken into account."

The airstrikes were directed at Kobani, a key city on the Syrian border with Turkey, which Ankara has previously tried to annex as part of its plan to create a "safe zone" along the country's northern border.

SDF spokesman Farhad Shami said in a tweet that two villages with large populations of displaced people were being attacked by Turkish forces. He claimed that the attacks resulted in "deaths and injuries".

Also Read: First COVID-19 death reported by China in nearly six months

The Turkish airstrikes reportedly targeted targets controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, according to Syrian opposition media.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based opposition war monitor, the attacks also hit Syrian army positions, and killed at least 12 people in total, including SDF and Syrian Army personnel.

According to the observatory, Turkish warplanes carried out about 25 airstrikes on Hasakah, Raqqa and locations outside Aleppo.
The US Consulate General in Irbil in neighboring Iraq said it was monitoring "credible open-source reports" of possible Turkish military action in northern Syria and northern Iraq in the coming days.

Also Read: World economic conditions and long-term inflation

According to the Kurdish-led government in northeastern Syria, fighters in the region would have "the right to resist and defend our territories which would lead to a protracted war" if Turkey attacked.
Since 2016, Turkey has conducted three significant cross-border operations in Syria and has already captured some northern areas.